2015 Elixirs Archive Stories

Please smile, my story isn’t a sad one,” said Karla, the youth speaker at the 44 Women for Children luncheon, a fundraiser for Orangewood Children’s Foundation. She could have fooled those in the audience, many of whom were in tears after just seeing an emotionally charged short film Karla created about the abuse she and two si

White’s Cove, four miles from Avalon on the leeward coast of Catalina Island, is a shallow inlet of tall palms framed by scrub-covered hills that jut sharply from the sea. Yachters from Newport Beach have sought out the idyllic spot for more than half a century. They tie up at moorings offshore, set out their deck chairs and fill tranquil

“Oh my gosh, put something on her so she is not standing naked!” Kirsten Prosser directs her staff in Danish-accented English, waving toward a glass-mosaic mannequin glittering au natural in the window of OnQueStyle, the designer resale boutique and styling agency in Corona del Mar, where fashionistas flock in search of anything from

Fri Jul 31, 2015

Best Sellers
By Marilyn Kalfus | photography by David Heath, Toby Ponnay and Jeri Koegel

What tops buying a luxury home with a view of the Pacific Ocean? That’s easy. Finding one that’s newly built. Three of the five Orange County homes recorded in the Multiple Listing Service as selling for the heftiest sums in the first half of 2015 were completed this year or in 2014. Their vintage aside, each home on the list is exce

Catch the rich glow of varnished mahogany in the morning sunlight, notice the sleek, simple lines, and – if you score an invitation – step into a wooden boat for an up-close experience, and very likely you’ll be hooked.
Wooden boats have a special attraction; many are five, six or seven decades old or olde

When Huntington Beach’s Peter Townend, best known as PT, sees what professional surfing has become in the four decades since he became the sport’s first world champion, he is both stoked and amazed. Today, professional surfing’s champions are millionaire celebrities, flying first class, staying in beachfront manses and pampered

Sometime before the end of the decade an iconic new building will rise on the campus of Segerstrom Center for the Arts, signaling the move of Orange County Museum of Art from Newport Beach to Costa Mesa. When the museum opens, there’s little doubt guests at OCMA’s 2015 Art of Dining gala fundraiser will be among the names seen on its

Salzburg is magical, a mosaic of graceful spires, domes and fortress walls crowned by the Alps. It’s a backdrop that inspires. Just ask former Orange County resident Dean Corey, a frequent visitor who loves the scenery, music and history of the Austrian city, birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Corey, longtime president

Mikimoto NecklaceThe delicate underwater ecosystem of the oceans is being compromised by pollution. The oyster is so fragile, even small levels of toxicity can cause havoc. Mikimoto is helping to combat these problems to ensure the production of its famous pearls. Its Sunset necklace features blue, pink and purple sapphires paired w

It’s been more than a decade since OC had a supercar to call its own. The county is home to its fair share of foreign exotics, notably Ferraris, Lamborghini and McLaren. But, it was the mighty Saleen S7 – a $400,000 American supercar capable of keeping pace with the Enzos and F’s of the world – that was hand-built here, s

Serious mixologists may sneer at the thought of a premade cocktail mixer. But when the cold-pressed juice connoisseurs at Nékter Juice Bar created its line of low-calorie mixers longing for a boozy finish, several bar hounds took notice. One skeptical taster was SOL Cocina’s beverage director Colin Pflugradt.
Then Pflugradt

Building Boom of New Homes With two large residential communities about to open in Orange County – Beacon Park, the second major village in Irvine’s Great Park, in the summer and Esencia, the second major village by Rancho Mission Viejo near San Clemente, in the fall – it is easy to overlook the ever-continuing res

The artist: Laguna Beach-based photographer Rob Gage has spent much of his 50-year shutterbug career in advertising – including working on Chevrolet campaigns for more than 25 years. His work has taken him to 70 countries and most states. A graduate of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Gage taught there for 15 years and has served

Pacific Symphony featured a beach party theme at its annual gala, which raised $1.6 million while honoring Music Director Carl St.Clair’s 25th anniversary with the orchestra. The gala drew more than 400 to the Hotel Irvine, where guests enjoyed an al fresco scene, complete with cabanas, surfboards and a mechanical shark, before adjourning

Fri Jul 31, 2015

Best Sellers
By Marilyn Kalfus | photography by David Heath, Toby Ponnay and Jeri Koegel

OC’S BOOK CLUB
Join in The Register Book Club this summer with a local classic: “Laguna Heat,” T. Jefferson Parker’s best-selling novel set in Orange County. The Book Club shares weekly chats at coastmagazine.com/go/bookclub. Or follow along on Twitter with #OCRBookClub. Meet Parker at the Register at 1

The 2015 Natalie’s Wish gala at the Balboa Bay Resort raised more than $2.3 million for the Cystinosis Research Foundation. CRF is an OC-based nonprofit that helps identify, develop and fund scientific research for the treatment and eventual cure of cystinosis, a relentless and painful disease that affects 2,000 worldwide, mainly kids.

If floors really are the “fifth wall” of a room, suitable for displays of art and design, rug makers are taking note, producing hand-made couture carpets designed by fashion stars such as Diane Von Furstenberg and Alexander McQueen and limited editions by heavyweight artists. The contemporary artist Richard Prince, known for his coll

NEW AND RETURNING:Reunion & Asada by Nancy Luna
When Scott McIntosh was forced to close Asada in Laguna Beach in 2013, he kept the rights to the name, hoping one day he’d reopen the restaurant again. Now, that time has come.McIntosh, who operates Reunion Kitchen + Drink in Anaheim Hills, has struck a deal to

My favorite places always seem to have sand. When not in the desert, I can generally be found at the beach. These days, my beach town of preference is Dana Point.
It was years ago, in Laguna Beach, that I first heard about Dana Point. I was learning how to surf and the waves got crowded. My instructor recalled the old days – the 19